❓ Dr. Walker questions the Minister for Police about adopting a compassionate cannabis use scheme similar to NSW for terminally ill patients. The Minister defends WA's current medicinal cannabis laws and police discretion.
AnsweredQoN 214Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
MEDICAL CANNABIS —
COMPASSIONATE USAGE — POLICE DISCRETION
214. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
I refer the minister to the New
South Wales medicinal cannabis compassionate use scheme, which empowers police
in that state to use their discretion not to charge adults with a terminal
illness or their carers for possession of cannabis not lawfully prescribed.
(1) Has the minister had any discussions with his NSW
counterpart regarding the effectiveness of this scheme?
(2) If yes to
(1), will he share any resultant correspondence; if no to (1), why not, and
will he commit to further investigate the scheme from a Western Australian
perspective?
(3) What
discretion, if any, do WA police officers presently have in similar
circumstances?
(4) If the police have little or no discretion in this
regard, why is Western Australia under the Cook government taking a less
humane approach to terminal illnesses in the community than other Australian
jurisdictions?
COMPASSIONATE USAGE — POLICE DISCRETION
214. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
I refer the minister to the New
South Wales medicinal cannabis compassionate use scheme, which empowers police
in that state to use their discretion not to charge adults with a terminal
illness or their carers for possession of cannabis not lawfully prescribed.
(1) Has the minister had any discussions with his NSW
counterpart regarding the effectiveness of this scheme?
(2) If yes to
(1), will he share any resultant correspondence; if no to (1), why not, and
will he commit to further investigate the scheme from a Western Australian
perspective?
(3) What
discretion, if any, do WA police officers presently have in similar
circumstances?
(4) If the police have little or no discretion in this
regard, why is Western Australia under the Cook government taking a less
humane approach to terminal illnesses in the community than other Australian
jurisdictions?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by
the Minister for Police.
(1)–(4) Medicinal
cannabis medicines are lawful and available in Western Australia, including for
those with a terminal illness. The Cook Labor government supports patients
receiving medicines via lawful channels under appropriate medical supervision
and using products of known quality through regulatory schemes designed to
protect patient safety. The Western Australia Police Force officers have a common-law
discretionary authority. It enables the officer dealing with the discovery of
an alleged offence to weigh up all the circumstances surrounding the matter,
consider the antecedents of the alleged offender and community expectations, and decide whether it is in the public interest
to commence a prosecution. As there are no current plans to make changes to the
existing laws in place regarding cannabis possession and use in WA, I have
therefore not had discussions with the New South Wales police minister in
relation to this matter.
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by
the Minister for Police.
(1)–(4) Medicinal
cannabis medicines are lawful and available in Western Australia, including for
those with a terminal illness. The Cook Labor government supports patients
receiving medicines via lawful channels under appropriate medical supervision
and using products of known quality through regulatory schemes designed to
protect patient safety. The Western Australia Police Force officers have a common-law
discretionary authority. It enables the officer dealing with the discovery of
an alleged offence to weigh up all the circumstances surrounding the matter,
consider the antecedents of the alleged offender and community expectations, and decide whether it is in the public interest
to commence a prosecution. As there are no current plans to make changes to the
existing laws in place regarding cannabis possession and use in WA, I have
therefore not had discussions with the New South Wales police minister in
relation to this matter.
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